FIRE DEPARTMENT UNDERTAKES PREFIRE PLANNING

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department announced efforts at preventing loss of life and minimizing property damage during fires through the implementation of a new program of prefire planning.

Beginning March 16, crews from the four Cape Girardeau fire companies will begin visiting buildings designated as "target hazards" for the purpose of laying out a plan of attack in the event of a fire in the building.

A target hazard is any building which could produce a large loss of life, a high degree of injury or a high degree of property loss or damage during a fire. A building may be classified a target hazard because of the type of people who occupy it, the type of building it is, its contents or the manufacturing process occurring in the building.

Among the type of buildings firefighters will target for the program will be schools, hospitals, large businesses and factories.

Capt. Michael Morgan of the fire department said Tuesday that firefighters will be looking at key factors that influence how they attack a fire, such as building construction features, what is done in the building and specific hazards that may be in the building, such as stored chemicals or openings in the floor.

"This program is meant to enhance our response to an emergency," Morgan said, emphasizing that it is not a fire code inspection program.

The information gathered in the program will be stored in the department's computers and given to firefighters as a part of their continuing review and training programs.

In the future, the department hopes to have on-board computers in their fire engines, which will allow them easier access to the preplanning information at the actual site of a fire. The on-board computers, however, are at least three to seven years off, Morgan said.

The preplanning program, which will be an on-going program with frequent updating, has been talked about for three years. When the new chief came to Cape Girardeau, the idea was presented to him and he readily endorsed it, Morgan said.

Fire Chief Dan White said of the new program, "By working with private business and industry to give firefighters a firsthand view of buildings where we may be called, we can do a much better job handling an emergency with the prior knowledge gained from prefire visits. It's a great method of giving a better service to the citizens and enhancing the safety of firefighters."